


Partners in Crime

by w00pss



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gangsters, Blood, Blood and Injury, Crime Fighting, Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff, Gangs, M/M, Murder, One Shot, Partners in Crime, Tiny bit of Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-09
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-03-13 01:09:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28645002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/w00pss/pseuds/w00pss
Summary: San leaned over to reach the flat knife taped against his ankle and threw it neatly and strongly in the back of his target. A muffled plaint reached his ears, making his fingers quiver.“Scored a bull’s-eye,” he cackled lugubriously.
Relationships: Choi San/Jung Wooyoung
Kudos: 29





	Partners in Crime

**Author's Note:**

> I particularly like action and writing bloody fighting scenes is a bit of my hobbyhorse (i’m not a violent person, please don’t misunderstand lmao) so I decided to give the woosan a little mission.  
> Here are the tw: blood, fighting scenes, mention of vomit, little bit of cursing
> 
> Hope you’ll like it~

“What are you doing here?!”

“What are  _ you _ doing here?!”

“You told me you’d go attack him while I stay behind as a backup!”

“No! I told you  _ you _ ’d attack him while I stay behind as a backup!”

“Crap! Where is he?” Wooyoung asked, a scowl growing on his face.

“I don’t know you were supposed to get him!”

“Ugh, let’s hunt separately, the clock’s ticking.”

San didn’t need to agree verbally; he just left his coworker —and boyfriend— alone on the roof and slided down an unsteady metal pipe. He landed on two stable feet and started to run. The air was hot, suffocating, even if the sun was long gone. Wooyoung prefered to cover the distance on the rooftops, even if it was more risky. He could fall to death, but having the faint wind brushing his face while he scanned the streets around him was worth it.

If their target was suspecting them, it could’ve already ran miles away, taken the bus or even called the police, even if the last one was much less likely to happen because their target wasn’t very legal in their own actions either. The job was assured to be much more intricate than what they initially thought. Wooyoung kept San in sight, just to make sure everything was going to be okay. The older man had a habit of not being careful enough. It wasn’t intentional, but still extremely dangerous. 

The moon was laying its dim light on the city, making Wooyoung’s race a bit easier as he could see what material he was stepping on. He kept a steady rhythm, his running punctuated by his short breaths and the thud of his feet on the roofing. And then, a couple of streets away, in a dark alley, was running their target, fleeing ridiculously. Fingers forming a ring, Wooyoung brought them to his own mouth. A lingering, strident whistling seeped through his lips to warn his accomplice who trembled with impatience.

“Forward,” he ordered in a low voice, between two gulps of air.

Once San heard that word through his earpiece, a large grin stretched his lips. He accelerated, ready for the action to start. But as his fast pace steadied, he heard Wooyoung slip and curse.

“You okay?” asked San, out of breath. He received no answer. “Woo’? You okay?” His voice sounded alarmed and panic started rising.

He stopped and looked behind. Barely hanging on a roof was Wooyoung, only one arm supporting his whole weight.

“Run, San! Go get him, what are you doing?!”

“But-” San protested.

“I can take care of myself! You’re losing time! Why are you not running yet?!”

The older one obeyed, going even quicker than he was, his breath irregular because of the fear he felt for a couple of seconds.

“Why didn’t you answer?! I thought you-”

“Stop talking, you’re losing time!” half-groaned and half-screamed an angered Wooyoung through the earpiece.

“Quickly get back on the rooftops, Woo’. That’ so fucking dangerous! You almost fell...”

“I can take care of myself, I said. Concentrate on what you have to do and be careful for once, I’m not there to back you up, this time.”

San was let alone with himself, in the darkness of the night. He saw a silhouette frantically running in front him, probably out of energy.  _ Oh sweetie, I barely used any stamina yet _ , he thought. San reduced his pace, silently catching up with the target, which was a muscular man who didn’t even seem intoxicated, which was a contrast with his very own habits. A wound had left a trail of blood down his arm, but else than that, he looked in a perfect condition.  _ For now _ .

“Do you have him?” Wooyoung asked, finally having both feet on the rooftop, safe from a free-fall

“The fun starts.”

San leaned over to reach the flat knife taped against his ankle and threw it neatly and strongly in the back of the target. A muffled plaint reached his ears, making his fingers quiver.

“Scored a bull’s-eye,” he cackled lugubriously.

“Careful, Sanie,” repeated Wooyoung in his earpiece.

He ignored the warning, a macabre grin reaching his face as he approached the kneeling —and suffering— man. 

“So polite, kneeling down to show respect towards me. But you know what? I don’t want the dusty respect of something like you.”

“Sanie, end it quickly,” Yunho finally intervened through the earpiece.

“Can’t I have a bit of fun?” San pouted, his long fingers circling around the thick throat of the man.

He didn’t hear the answer his coworker gave him, being thrown violently on the hard tar. San groaned, his sight bleary from the sudden impact. His jaw clenched with an eerie giggle.

“Want to play hard to get?” he sneered.

A hand tightened around his neck, forcing a choking sound out of his throat.

“San!” he heard Wooyoung’s scream, not sure whether it was in the distance or in the earpiece.

He let his knife clatter with the bitumen, put one hand over the ones choking him to secure them and threw one powerful punch in the neck of his assailant. San shifted to his side, not caring about the tighter grip it allowed on his own throat, and with a heavy shoulder knock, he freed himself. He didn’t let his lungs get completely filled with oxygen before getting on top of the man, gasping for air.

“Wanted to resist? To kill someone else? You’re getting on the wrong person’s nerves,” he hissed, seething with hatred.

His fingers grabbed locks of hair and he lifted the target’s head.

“Tell me, why did you kill them?” San’s raucous voice uttered.

He waited two seconds, and facing a silence filled with his panting, knocked the head on the bitumen.

“Won’t you tell me?”

The target’s sealed lips also sealed his destiny as San continued to hit the man’s head on the tar, hard enough to be atrociously painful, but not suffice to kill him yet. He released his grip on the man, barely controlling his anger, and got up to reach his knife. He’d end it quickly, as Hongjoong ordered and as Yunho asked. But San was quickly dazed, being slammed against the brick wall. He received violent punches and was then pinned to the ground by a sweltering and unwavering weight.

“Sorry, Yun’. Gotta make it a bit less efficacious,” he mumbled as his lips quirked into a morbid smirk.

He let the man punch him again, trying to regain his full consciousness after so many hits. Breathing was  _ so _ painful. 

“You’re not the only one used to blood,  _ San _ ,” snarled the man.

His target knew his name. San’s throbbing breath quickened as adrenaline flew in his veins. He was in danger. He suddenly tried to hear what Yunho was trying to tell him for minutes and was able to hear a couple of words despite the buzzing in his ears.

“... calm… try to… keep… pace… Wooyoung… Jongho… safe…”

“What?” he snapped, trying to ignore the ringing sound he kept hearing.

“Focus… I tell you, San. You… keep the pace… Wooyoung and Jongho… coming. Save… stamina… Five minutes… then run away,” repeated Yunho in the earpiece, in a calm, yet authoritarian voice.

“I meant I’ll kill you too,” laughed the man, grabbing San’s knife.

The target’s words made him focus back on the fight. His shaky hands locked the man’s wrists away from his organs. San rolled on the side to get an advantage, but his opponent kicked him off of his muscular body. Groaning, he got up at the speed of light and threw himself on the man to disarm him. But he wasn’t quick enough; the blade trailed down his stomach, creating a long, but fortunately not deep, wound. He was using too much stamina, trying to surprise his opponent with speed. San’s hand closed on the blade, cutting open his palm but reducing the weapon’s range. 

“Why did you kill them!” he screamed, trying his best to keep his target glued to the floor.

“Why not?” the man grinned.

An enraged shriek left San’s mouth, enlarging his opponent’s smile. His target’s muscular hand closed around his throat to push him away. Once the man was back on his feet, he didn’t let go of his hold on San, lifting him and crushing his body against the brick wall. He let out a silent whimper at the impact. But San didn’t care about getting choked. He didn’t care about being in pain if it was to kill the monster in front of him. His hand still clamped around the knife’s blade, he tersely pulled on it. Blood dripped down his fingers as the man let go of the weapon, choking him harder.  _ You have an impressive ability to underestimate me, sweetie. You should be more careful, _ San thought. A second later, the knife’s handle violently hit his opponent’s temple. His target stumbled a step back and it was enough for San to tackle the man on the bitumen. He gave him weak punches, stamina lowering with the lack of oxygen.

“Tell. Me. Why. You. Killed. Them,” he panted, his vision becoming blurry.

San felt hands grabbing his shoulders and pulling him away. The impact of his back against the tar went up his spine. He was about to get up again when he realized Wooyoung was the one who pulled him. His coworker was now the one fighting the man. Wooyoung’s frame was petite compared to his opponent’s, but he had an advantage as his stamina was almost at its fullest. He finished off their target with a blade in the neck, listening with loath to the disgusting sobs coming out of the open throat before sitting back on the road, breathless.

“I told you to be careful.”

“I tried to,” mumbled San with difficulty, his throat in harsh pain.

“You didn’t look around. You didn’t even realize they were two against you alone!” scolded Wooyoung.

“What?”

San looked to his left, and then at his right, and saw that his coworker was right; two men were laying dead on the thin road, one with the back of his skull crushed and the other with an open throat.

“Twins,” the younger one explained. “We have to go back on the rooftops and alert the police. Are you gonna be able to climb up?”

“Of course.”

The older one got up and walked towards a large metal pipe. His bloody hands circled around the cold material and he started the ascent, Wooyoung following him. The younger’s left hand pressed in the small of San’s back to provide more support to the strained man. Once they were both on the rooftop, Wooyoung pulled a gun and shot in the sky to attract the police on the murder site. They weren’t legal —they were killers— but they still had a bit of decency. A minute later, a silhouette ran to them; it was Jongho. He kneeled, his back facing San and once the older one’s arms had secured himself on Jongho’s back, the younger one walked at a quick pace, followed by Wooyoung. 

“We’ll come down by a trap door leading to a simple corridor. It’s an apartment block, so nobody’s supposed to notice us at this hour. We’ll be only a couple of minutes away from our building,” informed Jongho. “San, will you be able to get down that trap door and lend well?”

“I must.” His voice was weak now that adrenaline had left his veins. He had received much more punches then he initially thought and being choked three times in a couple of minutes drained him. “Actually, I don’t know.”

“Yeah, I guessed.”

“I’ll get down first and catch him if needed,” proposed Wooyoung.

“Crap... Jongho, put me down,” San rushed him.

“What do you mean? We’re not-”

“Down.”

A minute later, San was vomiting bloody bile on the roofing. Wooyoung cursed a thousand, maybe a million, times.

“Shut up, Woo’,” Jongho snapped, on edge. “If a police officer hears you, we’re stuck in a cell for at least forty-eight hours, and that’s only if we’re not incriminated.”

“You need to move and quickly reach our building. Police are coming and there also might be someone after you,” said Yunho in their earpieces.

“What do you mean, someone’s after us?” Wooyoung asked.

“We’re not sure but Yeosang’s drone localized a man running on the rooftops. I can’t identify him, but it can’t be good.”

“Can’t you put ‘Sang as a sniper?”

“You’re not within the firing range, and shooting would make the police suspicious of us.”

“What about Mingi?” Jongho wondered.

“He’s in a solo mission right now and Hongjoong’s the one leading him,” finished Yunho.

“So what do we do?”

“You get San to the building while I cover you both,” proposed Jongho. “Once he’ll stop vomiting…”

“I’ll try to control my nausea,” the older one panted. “It’s not as bad, now.”

San’s arm around Wooyoung’s shoulders, they let the younger one behind.

“We’ll be there soon. Seonghwa is waiting for you.”

“You’re trying to reassure yourself. I’m fine, Woo’.”

“If you were fine you would not need me to support half of your weight,” Wooyoung stated.

Both knew he was right. They reached the trap door in an uncomfortable silence. Wooyoung opened it, let himself slide in the hole and lended, his knees bending.

“Hang in the frame, I’ll catch you.”

San didn’t argue. As much as he hated depending on someone, his current physical state forced him to accept Wooyoung’s help without a complaint. They walked down the stairs and were joined again by Jongho. He seemed to have had a couple of punches, but he was a strong fighter, so he sorted out everything almost easily.

Ten minutes later, Hongjoong opened the heavy door, a dark expression etched on his face.

“Woo’, you’re in my office,” he ordered.

The mood was bleak, but Wooyoung quickly cut off the silence.

“How could you not tell us we were against two men, and not one?” His whisper was angered, full of disbelief.

“Yunho did research, me too, and Mingi stole some information about them a while ago, but there was nothing about him having a twin.”

“How can you miss that big of a detail?”

“I don’t know Wooyoung, we should rather wonder how they hid it so well for years. But you’re not here for that. You keep telling San to be more cautious, but you almost fall off a roof? What’s up with you?”

“I wanted to get to the target before San.”

“Why?”

“You know why. The target literally killed his parents.”

“Yeah... It’s never easy to face that, but he said he was okay with it.”

“It’s always easy to say it when the man’s not in front of you.”

“That’s why he needs to work on his anger control or it will kill him. And you too. It can’t work out if you keep bickering with our victims. I’m telling you because he has to rest and you’re his partner, but make sure it gets to him. He’s a backup killer until he learns to kill quick and easy, without losing time. And if I need to put you too as a backup, I’ll do so. We can’t afford to lose any of us.”

“What’s the next mission?” Wooyoung asked, a scowl on his face.

“You both take a good rest, and then we’ll see.”

“I can work. Mingi needs help, right?”

“Shut up and go take care of your boyfriend. Jongho and Yeosang are already on their way to help Min’.”

Wooyoung slightly sighed but gave his leader a thankful smile.

“Take care, uh?” Hongjoong said.

“I will. You too.”

He walked out of the office and entered another room.

“Hey.” A soft, but sad, smile reached Wooyoung’s lips as he glanced at his boyfriend, and then at Seonghwa.

“He’s alright. His throat is quite inflamed, but in a week or so it will all be behind him. He has no internal bleeding, so that’s a relief. The trachea is a bit damaged, but it will heal. He just has to not talk too much for now. And the punches weren’t too bad. I mean, his body’s quite strong.”

“I know… I just hate seeing him on that bed over and over again. He’s always so reckless…”

“You’re not much better,” chuckled Seonghwa. “Aren’t you two tired of always worrying for each other?”

“Yeah, wathever… Thank you, ‘Hwa.”

“No problem.” He was about to leave the room, but instead looked straight at Wooyoung. “No kissing.”

“What?”

“He can’t afford to be even a little out of breath until his throat is completely back to normal, so no kissing allowed.”

Wooyoung pouted, visibly unhappy about the news.

“Unless you want the damage to get worse?” The older one tested him.

“Okay, got it. No kissing.”

With a nod of approval, Seonghwa left the room. Wooyoung sat at the bedside of his boyfriend, fingers brushing the sweaty locks of hair out of the sleepy man’s forehead.

“Shouldn’t you go rest?” San slurred.

“I can rest here.”

“Then get in the bed too.”

“It’s a single bed, Sanie. There’s not enough space. Plus I don’t want to hurt you by mistake.”

“I want to cuddle,” San pouted, eyes half-closed.

“You shouldn’t talk, your throat-”

“Come cuddling and I’ll stop talking,” he said with a soft smile.

“If it hurts, tell me,” Wooyoung whispered.

San shifted his body to give a bit of space to his boyfriend, who lay down and embraced him carefully to make sure no one would fall on the floor. Wooyoung closed his eyes, listening to the older one’s regular, yet unusually loud breathing. He felt so comfortable, like this, his chest heavied by the head resting on it.

“You’re warm,” whispered San, clinging to Wooyoung. “I’m sorry.”

“Why?”

“You told me to stay safe, but I didn’t. I just wanted to know so bad… Why did he kill them?”

“I know, Sanie. I’m sorry that you’ll never know, but it was necessary to quickly end him. You understand, right?”

“I do. It’s okay, thank you. It’s just… I wanted to know why they left me so early.”

“They were forced to, you know it. They loved you Sanie, they’re your family.”

“I miss them so much.”

“They miss you too.”

A tear fell on the older’s cheek before crashing on Wooyoung’s chest.

“But please be even more careful with your actions, San. For me, for them.”

“Okay. For both you and them.”

“I love you. I was so scared to lose you.”

“I love you too, Woo’. So, so much. You’ll not have to lose me, I promise.”

With that simple but eternal promise, both San and Wooyoung dozed off, arms hugging the other and legs tangled up.

**Author's Note:**

> So that was my second OS! This time it’s a darker atmosphere, but i thought i should definitely start a woosan os by a little of bickering, idk why. Fighting scenes are hard to write, but it’s so satisfying when it’s well done… Hopefully i did it well… Please leave kudos if you liked it :))
> 
> (English isn’t my first language. If you see mistakes, I’d be glad to know what they are!)


End file.
